Mirkwood's Princess
by limwen manwathiel
Summary: Legolas looked at her again. There was no sign left of that little broken girl his father had found on his way back to Mirkwood. Instead, there was now a tall, beautifull and fierce warrior princess standing in front of him, smiling. The little moments of Livìa's , daughter of Thranduil, life; moments she will always remember.
1. Chapter 1 - Alone in the woods

_A/N: So here it is! The first chapter to my story about Mirkwood's princess hehe. Feel free to review, but please know that english isn't my first language, so yeah... And if there's a mistake somewhere, just tell me._

_Disclaimer: I don't own Middle-Earth and I sadly never will_

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Mirkwood's Princess

**Chapter 1 – Alone in the woods**

It was a cloudy but warm summer day when it happened. Thranduil, his son Legolas and some guards and other important elves of Mirkwood were riding home, after visiting Lord Elrond and his sons in Rivendell. Since it was growing darker and darker, Thranduil told his people to make camp and that they would follow the Old Forest Road the next day, to reach the king's halls some days later.

Legolas didn't listen much to his father's orders, something wasn't right. He had tried to ignore that feeling that hunted him since he departed from Imladris, but it didn't work. The more the company approached Mirkwood, the more the young prince worried. At the end, it was even obvious to Thranduil that something was wrong with his son. _He misses Glorfindel I suppose_, he thought quietly while observing his son as he dismounted his horse. Legolas had only met Glorfindel twice, the first time was for his fiftieth birthday and the second time was last month, for his hundredth birthday and because his father wanted to see Celebrian, Elrond's pregnant wife. Legolas liked Glorfindel a lot, since he wasn't as protective as his father was and he had many tales to tell. Legolas had enjoyed this trip to Rivendell even more than the first one, because he was finally able to teach Elrond's sons Elrohir and Elladan archery. After the fourth day of training, Elladan had managed to hit the target twice and was followed shortly after by Elrohir.

Thranduil was glad he went with his son to Rivendell, where both were carefree and away from trouble. The last years were difficult for Legolas and him. Noveniel, his wife and his son's mother, died shortly after a spider attack and he had a hard time trying not to fade. _Legolas, my little Greenleaf… I need to be strong for him_, he had promised himself. And he had held his promise. He spent more time with Legolas, teaching him how to use his bow properly and gave him his old two battle-knifes. He had seen how his only son had grown stronger, wiser and of course, older. _Legolas, he is the reason why I still breathe_, he thought and dismounted as well, to join his son who was walking away from the camp secretly and on his guard.

"Would you please tell me what you are doing, Inneg?" Thranduil asked his son, who was walking further and further away from the camp.

"Ú-iston, ada" Legolas replied to his father. He had hoped nobody would notice that he was missing, but he hadn't thought about his father. He loved his father, a lot, but right now he wished to be alone. The feeling had grown even stronger and it was almost unbearable. It was as if his soul was guiding him somewhere, but his body refused to follow. _Maybe that's what it feels like, fading,_ he thought not looking up to his father, who was now standing next to him. "Since we left Rivendell, I have this feeling… I do not know what it is _adar_, but it is scaring me."

"Is that the reason you walked away, Legolas?" Thranduil asked skeptically. Was he so bad at hiding his emotions? As soon as they company had passed the gates of Rivendell to go home, he had felt not as usually, almost sick. At some moments it had been so bad, he had thought about going back to Elrond, to make sure nothing was wrong with him. But it was as if a little voice told him to continue, that he would find what he was looking for.

"Yes, ada. You felt it too, didn't you? That is why it took you so long to reply." Legolas was a good warrior and preferred to be on the training ground than in the king's halls, which meant that sometimes you would hear Herdir screaming at Legolas, for coming late to his history lessons. It reassured Thranduil that defending and fighting wasn't the only thing in Legolas head and that he was completely capable of understanding his relatives.

Thranduil was about to ask Legolas why he thought it would be a good idea to simple sneak away while nobody was watching, but he noticed, as did his son, a light a few trees further away. It wasn't the light of flames, that was for sure, which meant it weren't trolls or bandits, but still both elves put an arrow on their bows. _The light is much lighter as any light I have ever seen, if that makes any sense_, Legolas thought and looked up to his father, who was still taller than Legolas even though he had already reached his adult height. Thranduil gave his son a nod and then both walked into the clearing.

At first, none of the two elves could see anything. The light was in fact lighter and stronger than any light they had seen before. Shielding your eyes didn't help and it was only after a few minutes of pain, the light got weaker and father and son saw where the light came from.

The clearing wasn't big, but it was still big enough for an entire flower field to fit. Flowers of a beauty Legolas had never seen. They were bigger than every natural flower and some of them were golden. Birds were singing, although it was night.

"Adar, what is this place?" Legolas asked and tried to sound as confident as possible, but the truth was, he was slightly scared. Thranduil was, as against Legolas, much calmer and was wondering how it was possible for a place of such beauty to exist. And as he wasn't as nervous, he quickly noticed some flowers missing in the middle of the field, like a little hole. He slowly entered the garden of flowers and walked up to the middle of the meadow. He was quickly joined by Legolas at his side.

The elves expected many things to be the source of the light, but it was none of them and they were absolutely astonished by it. It wasn't a fire, a candle, a treasure or any other object. It was child. A human girl to be precise. The girl was smiling in her sleep and didn't seem to notice the elves staring down at her in shock. First she had looked to them like a two year old girl, but they soon realized that the light she was radiating made her look older. Her body was bigger than ordinary human or elvish baby bodies, but her face told them both, that indeed, it was a baby girl lying on the ground radiating a very strong light.

And as she awoke, Thranduil and Legolas, couldn't help but notice the big sky blue eyes she had. She looked up to Thranduil and took one of his braids into her hand and then said (which made both elves jump up in surprise, since no ordinary baby girl was supposed to know how to talk):

"Please take care of my daughter, le hannon Thranduil Elvenking."

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_Sindarin expressions:_

_Le hannon – I thank you_

_Inneg – my son_

_Ada – dad_

_Adar - father_

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So yeah, as I said - THE MORE YOU REVIEW THE SOONER THE NEXT CHAPTER WIL BE UP MOUAHAHHAA

X Claire


	2. Chapter 2 - Thranduil's Pain

A/N: Soooo here I am, again. This chapter is a bit longer than the last one, I couldn't stop writing (I'm so proud of the ending hehe). Please review and tell me what I should change or just leave a nice message! Oh and for the new ones, Oropher was Thranduil's father ;)

**Disclaimer: I do not own Middle-Earth and all the other perfect creations of Tolkien. But the little girl is mine as is Rochan.**

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**Mirkwood's Princess**

Chapter 2 – Thranduil's pain

Their king and prince had both been missing for quite some time and the guards got nervous. Rochan, the king's most trusted friend and guard of Legolas, had send a small party to make sure his king was alright, but they came back only to tell him that they had lost the tracks. _Where could they possibly be?_ He thought as he walked around in his tent. It was dark outside and he was nervous that something might could have happened to Legolas or Thranduil, it was obvious they weren't themselves since they had left Rivendell.

Meanwhile, Legolas and Thranduil were arguing about what to do with the little child that was lying, alone, on the forest floor in the middle of nowhere. Both knew that they couldn't leave the child, she would quickly die because of the cold or a spider would decide to make her its breakfast. Yet, Legolas wanted his father to raise her and so she could be his sister, with which Thranduil didn't agree. He preferred the idea of taking her with the company to Mirkwood and give the child to one of the guards or maybe even Rochan who helped him raise Legolas and grew to care deeply for the boy.

"But that... voice talked to _you_. Not to Rochan, not to anyone else. You, _adar_." Legolas failed miserably at trying to convince his father to keep the girl and make her the princess of Mirkwood. Of course, he remembered how hard it had been for his father to lose his mother – the pain was there every night when he tried to fall asleep – and Legolas knew that his father maybe wouldn't be able to survive another loss.

"It does not matter now, Legolas. We need to go back to the camp, we will decide tomorrow." And with these words, the elven king of Mirkwood carefully picked up the little girl that had been sleeping during the entire disagreement and made his way back to the camp.

As soon as the guard had told Rochan about the return of the king and his son, he had walked out of his tent to greet them, but was taken aback by surprise. Was that a little girl in Thranduil's arms? This clearly seemed to not only confuse him, but also the guards who looked up awkwardly to their king.

"Rochan, _aphado nin_. Now." Thranduil ordered as he walked into his own tent and was quickly followed by Rochan. Legolas was about to enter the tent as well, but Thranduil shot him a warning glare and told him to stay outside. "And I would not dare to spy on us, _Inneg_."

Legolas' smile had vanished so fast that Rochan thought for the rest of the day that he had only been imagining it. When Legolas had left, he sat down on a free chair, since Thranduil had sat down on the other one, the baby still in his arms.

"_Mellon nin_, whose child do you have in your arms? Where did you find her? What happened? _Hîr nin_, I…" Rochan clearly didn't know what to say. How could you explain to your king that you simply don't get it, that you don't understand? In other words, he was speechless.

"We found her in a clearing, not far away from the camp. When we found her, she was shining, _Mellon nín. Shining_." Thranduil spoke and was wondering if his story sounded at least a bit believable. "That is how we found her, the light was so strong Legolas went to see what it was and so we discovered her in the middle of golden flowers." He sighted.

"Thranduil, but what about the child? What will you do with her?" Rochan wasn't really interested in _how_ they found the girl; he was far more interested in _what_ was going to happen to her. He couldn't imagine Thranduil keeping her, although his king was a loving father and maybe he would get surprised.

"_Nan belain_, Rochan, that's why I am here! I do not know." Thranduil was exasperated and scared. _What am I scared of?_ He thought nervously. _She is a child and it is not my duty to look after her._ "I wanted to give her to you, _mellon nín_."

Rochan almost spilled out his wine. He was supposed to look after the child? Legolas was already enough work for him, but a little child to look after as well! "My lord! I do not know if I can accept that… offer." He stuttered.

Thranduil immediately regretted his words. "I know, I know, Mellon nín. _Goheno nín_, Rochan. I know how hard Legolas makes your work sometimes and I let my thoughts wander." Thranduil tried to make his voice sound as calm as possible, but Rochan knew him to well and understood quickly how agitated his old friend was. "When she was awake, she said something." The king took a deep breath "She… or more a man asked me to take care of her. _Please take care of my daughter, le hannon Thranduil Elven King…_" Thranduil nervously repeated the words, only to look up a few seconds later to see a completely bewildered Rochan.

"Maybe that… person was right, Thranduil. Maybe you should keep her. She would surely bring some joy into your life and the halls of Mirkwood." Rochan hoped the king would foster her. He wouldn't mind taking care of the girl of course, but there was something in the king's expression. The same expression he had when he went with Legolas to the archery field. The same expression he had when after a long day of work Legolas would come running into his father study with some food and cake everywhere in his braids. The expression that explained to the Mirkwood elves and all the other realms why the king hadn't faded yet.

"I cannot possibly keep her, Rochan! There're more and more spider attacks and the piles of work await me at home." Thranduil busted out. "No, _mellon nín_, I cannot keep her. As much as I wish I could, I can't" Something in Thranduil's look lied and gave him away. _Thranduil wasn't that busy and even if he was, he would still manage to raise a child_, Rochan kept his thoughts to himself, not wanting to anger the already nervous king.

"_Mellon nín_, we both know that the safe Greenwood the great does not longer exist and that the forest is full of danger is completely understandable. No, Thranduil, my old friend, there is something else bothering you." Rochan was worried for his king, but he was even more worried for his dear and close friend.

Thranduil first tried to ignore Rochan's last statement. It was true, his last words had been a lie, but still he could not foster the child. He had lived long enough to know that some scars would never heal and that some pain wouldn't fade.

"Mellon nín, tell me what is bothering you, _iesten_." Rochan pleaded. But when King Thranduil didn't show any reaction, he added: "I will find out anyway, as will Legolas."

Thranduil looked down at the girl and then took a deep breath. "Have you ever lost someone, Rochan? Have you ever lost someone so deer to you, that you _life_ wasn't more than a word to you? I hoped I would fade when I heard of my father's death. He was not only my father, but my hero. He taught me how to be a king, but most importantly, how to be a good father. That is why I am still here, Rochan. I still hear _her_ screams; they hunt me and will never leave me. I… What was life without her? What was life without the love of my life? I didn't know, but still something kept me from fading. Legolas. I have to be strong for him and I'll keep my promise.

"I try to protect him as much as I can, and to know that one day he'll be captain of the guard scares me. How much will the danger grow? What if Legolas dies? What if the little girl, the Princess of Mirkwood, dies? I am not sure if I could bear the pain of losing anyone else, Rochan."

"You will not lose them, mellon nín. Your love and your kingdom will protect them." Rochan fought with tears, Thranduil's speech had reminded him of the unbearable pain he had when his father had died with King Oropher during the Battle of Dagorlad and his mother who was waiting for both of them to sail to rejoin her in Valinor. But one of them would never came.

"This is why I cannot foster her, Rochan. Look at her, I do not know where the light came from, but she clearly isn't of elvish blood. She is mortal and one day she will die.

"And forever, is a long time to miss someone."

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**SINDARIN USED:**

Inneg – my son

Ada/Adar – dad/father

Aphado nin – follow me

Mellon nin – my friend

Hîr nin – my lord

Nan belain – by the valar!

Goheni nín – forgive me

Iesten – please

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**A/N: hahaha, what do you think? Will Thranduil keep her and make her sister of Mirkwood? But that wasn't the main question, what is she? What is this little girl in the forest? Who are her parents? Who talked to Thranduil? Where did these flowers come from? *laughs evilly***


	3. Chapter 3 - Nightmare

Mirkwood's Princess

**Chapter 3 – Nightmare**

_Everyone knows that elves only rest their souls and during the night, the slightest sound can wake them. That's why Legolas was quickly wide awake when he heard the door to his chamber open and footsteps coming closer. He was about to grab for one of his battles knives when he saw that the shadow that came towards his bed was way too small to be a threat. The prince understood immediately that the person was a child and the only child he knew that would sneak into his chamber during the night was his sister, Lothien._

_ Legolas smiled when he felt the mattress sink and a hand holding his. He slowly rolled onto his back and carefully brought his sister up to his chest. Her body went stiff for a slight moment, before she put her arms around his chest and buried her face in his neck. He felt her smiling. During a few moments everything was still, but Legolas knew her to well that she wasn't asleep. He was proven right when about 5 seconds later a quiet voice whispered into his ear. "Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you."_

_ Legolas took her chin in his hands and made her look up to him. "You didn't. Don't worry."_

_"You're lying."_

_"I know."_

_The 67 years old girl rolled out of his embrace and sat up straight. Her golden hair was slightly curled and various strands fell out of her tight braid. Her plump lips edges curved up into a smile and as her lips parted, he could see her perfectly straight and white teeth. The darkness in his room made Lothien's sky blue eyes look even bigger than they already were and her soft pale skin had never looked vulnerable. Her long lashes projected shadows over her cheeks and Legolas had to look twice at her to understand that this was the same little girl that had stolen three apple pies from the kitchen this morning and had eaten them in all tranquility in her bedroom not caring about the stains on one of his tunics she had "borrowed". "I had a nightmare Legolas." _

_Legolas sat up too and took her again in his arms. "Lothien, nothing will happen to you. I am here." He could feel how the fabric of his tunic on his shoulders got wet, Lothien was crying as she often did after having terrible nightmares even Elrond could find no answer for. _

_"But one day you won't. I saw you, Legolas. You were leaving and _ada_ was fading because of it."_

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Legolas tightened his grip around her waist, not willing to let her go. He still remembered Lothien's words as if she had only said them yesterday, but in truth it had been 103 years. 103 years of fear that his father would fade. 103 years of keeping a secret from the man he trusted more than anyone. The feeling of someone lovingly punching his arm made him look up and forget about his terrible fear of the day he would have to leave.

"I love you very much brother, but I'm sure I'll change my mind when you're finished with crushing me to death." A still half-asleep Lothien joked and Legolas almost didn't take her seriously until he saw that she really struggled to breathe.

"Sorry." He unwillingly loosened his grip around her. "I was thinking about something."

"If you're angry at me for using your bow yesterday, I'm sorry." She admitted and Legolas froze next to her. "Legolas?"

Legolas had always been a quite soul compared to his father who seemed to change mood all three seconds, but this time he really was about to lose his temper. "You did what?!"

Lothien recognized the disguised threat and suddenly thought it was a good time to change the subject and so she asked as innocent as possible: "So… what were you think about?"

Legolas groaned and ran a finger down Lothien's permanent golden side-braid. She still had the same big eyes, though they were now Capri blue and the lashes had become even denser and darker. She was certainly a face you didn't forget. Although it happened rather often that either his father or himself had to tell her that she was indeed beautiful and no, that the dress fitted perfectly, Lothien seemed to not only have inherited the elvish immortality but also the elvish beauty. The only thing that reminded him from time to time that she wasn't an elf, was that her ears weren't pointy. "Alright, I'm going to find it out anyway." She said, trying to hide the offended tone in her voice. And with that she swung her legs out of his bed and walked without further hesitation to the door.

She had already her hand on the knob when he rapidly got out of the bed too and walked towards her. "Lothien. I thought about the night you came into my room and…"

"…and I told you that one day you would leave. Legolas, I'm saying this one last time, it was a nightmare!" She ended his sentence. And apparently she really believed what she said. Of course she knew that Greenwood wasn't always completly safe and she knew of Sauron and his allies. And yet, Legolas knew that it wasn't just a nightmare, but he couldn't really understand how it was possible that she had a vision. "So, would you please now stop behaving like an elfling and come with me to get something to eat, I'm hungry." She whined.

"You should maybe dress properly before after all you're the princess." Legolas reminded her and she looked at her clothes. One of his sleeping tunics – they were way more comfortable than hers, since he was about a head taller than her – and one of the leggings she could also have used if she had wanted to go hunting.

"And what about you? Are you planning to walk into the kitchen's only in breeches? Though that would might help us to convince Bellasiel to give us something else than scones." She added thoughtfully and almost burst out laughing at Legolas clearly not-amused expression.

"Out."

And with that he half-pushed half-carried her out of his chambers, even though she hated being carried around like some kind of object.

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Thranduil smiled when he saw Legolas and Lothien standing at the archery range. Legolas shot arrow after arrow, always hitting the bull's eye and Lothien was sharpening her daggers. Thranduil had given her her first bow as soon as she was old enough to hold it, but although she managed to hit considerably well the bulls eye, she had always been more interested in swords and daggers and soon after, while Legolas was shooting arrows at random targets, she was throwing with daggers and hit just as well as Legolas did with his bow and arrows.

Thranduil saw his son telling Lothien something and then she laughed. It wasn't the way she laughed when some of these nasty ellons told her stories about their patrols while they were dancing on some celebration, but it was a real laugh. The kind of laugh that made him want to laugh too and that made him understand that no matter what happens, he was glad that he had kept the little girl from the woods.

"_Adar_! I thought you were busy today!" Lothien ran up to him, while Legolas still tried to concentrate on hitting the target, which definitely wasn't an easy task when Lothien was around.

"I was my dear, I was. But then I heard from Rochan that my son helped my mischievous daughter to steal some pies and then they went of running to the training ground." He laughed, while hugging his daughter who looked as if she wasn't sure if she should be worried or hugging him back.

"I, _adar_, was completely innocent. Lothien decided to act alone today." Legolas said when he had hit without much effort whatever he was aiming for. Meanwhile Lothien had managed to get out of her father's hug and instead stared daggers at her brother.

"Oh, really, did I. Who was the one who decided to simply throw a guest out of his chamber while it's still dark outside!" Lothien shot back at her brother who didn't look startled at all.

"As far as I can remember you were the one who sneaked into my chambers and into my bed!" Thranduil stared at both of his children. Alone they acted years above their age, but together they acted years under it. No, centuries under their age. He was about to set an end to the argument, when he heard something very interesting come out of the mouth of his only daughter.

"And in the end you were the one who strangled me almost to death because you are scared of some ridiculous words that came out of my mouth when I was a child!" Legolas froze, his father looked at him and Lothien looked as if she had just told something she should have. Which she actually had.

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A/N: Sorry, that you had to wait so long… But here it is! A new chapter! If you find any mistakes, feel free to tell me and I will correct them. I will too, from now on, try to post more often and maybe longer chapters?!

The only sindarin I used was '_ada_' and '_adar_' which means dad and father. Limwen.


	4. Announcement

**Hello fellow readers!**

School is starting again and that means: writers block and homework. However I thought it wasn't fair for those who reviewed (hein Kili Oakenshield) and followed the story. So I decided to do some Lothien Chronicles, which will kind of be oneshots about Lothien's life in Mirkwood.


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